I love animals. I sometimes feel like the crazy cat lady in that fantastic e-harmony spoof when it…read morecomes to nature - I want to hug it all and have it all on a rainbow, but I can't. Can't hug all the nature. Because that's mental. Anyway. Having read David's recount of this spot, and seeing that it's had barely any Yelp attention, I decided it had to be done - lo and behold, my holiday at home was the perfect time to jump in the car, head over Donny way, and get immersed in looking at cool animals. It was busy, with lots and lots of childrens. We foolishly chose to pick refreshments up from the child's side barn, where the screams of joy are amplified and pierce your ear drums. The other adults didn't seem phased though, perhaps that happens when you start to parent. But, nonetheless a 'coffee' and pasty was had to fuel the walk around, and two coffees, two pasties, and a danish was under a tenner. Nice. The programme booklet is three quid really well spent too, btw. Not only do you get the map, times of the talks and such like, but each section gives a little more and details the various species and offers extra info to take home. Love it! And what can you see? All sorts. It's a 1km complex (roughly) and so has plenty of span. That however, in context with say, how much territory a tiger will cover in the wild, seems small. (But that's not a criticism - more a realisation of how much land these animals need in the wild, and how easy it is to cross over into human territory.) However, their commitment to conservation and preservation is astounding. They've three leopards, brothers, all of whom are something like the primary leopards in the world for eventual re-introduction into the wild - their genes are great, and our best hope lies with breeding them, kinda thing. Apparently leopards are the only big cat that have a half decent chance of reintroduction, although I didn't get a chance to ask why that is. Perhaps as their solitary and don't need so much learning time with their mothers? The giraffes were amazing, and breath-taking to see up close. It's weird to consider how massive their heads are, and it looks as though they live life in slow motion by the way they move - it's kind of hypnotic. They also, in real life, look like the kind of animal you'd have invented as a child. Bizarre but beautiful. Great eyelashes. The African hunting dogs were also amazing. And the fact you can walk through enclosed areas and be so intimately close with wallabys and lemurs was an absolute pleasure. We arrived at Lemur woods just at feeding time, and it was pretty incredible. Want one! Can't have one. Must come back. As a quick recap on the animals I saw, there are farm animals for petting, tigers, lions, leopards, giraffes, hunting dogs, lemurs, wallabys, wild boar, marmosets (who were AWESOME!) ostriches and a bunch more. It's best to go when you get a chance to plan the talks, so you can try and luck out to see the feeding times with the big cats, as sadly we didn't see much action from that crowd. But just spotting a massive leopard sat way up in his climbing frame, and catching the male lion roaring, was enough for me. Basically, it's a great day out. Awesome.

Loved it, animals were all lovely. However, they put their recycling and general rubbish in one bin…read moreat the end of the day, despite having two seperate bins for it and it is very misleading.

Fabulous day, with a private Giraffe experience with our booking for my daughters 5th birthday…read more Absolutely fantastic, best experience whilst learning all about the conservation importance etc . Great informative keeper, very knowledgeable who had been there 26 years !! That shows a great place to work. Had afternoon tea overlooking the leopard enclosure. So much good fabulous spread and THE best tasting scones we've ever tried! Had to have boxes to take all the food home that we just couldn't finish. Amazing day with lovely people looking after and caring for the animals there. Thought the apes looked very sad and made us a little sad seeming them in the enclosures

A fun afternoon spent at the zoo is always a fun afternoon! Especially when you see giraffes trying…read moreto mate and all the little kids look horrified! We spent a few hours walking around the entire zoo and there were plenty of animals to keep my little guy entertained. The best part was the playground across from the gorilla sanctuary where all the little kids seemed to congregate. The highlight of the day was the Gruffalo section. It was just a series of animatronic animals and rooms with snippets of the cartoon playing but it was fun and passed the time well. Got hot dogs from the hot dog stand; although there was a restaurant on site... we just needed a quick snack and the service for it was quick and efficient.

If you are looking for a fab day out in Lincolnshire then give The Butterfly & Wildlife Park at…read moreLong Sutton a go. This little park started out as just a butterfly park but over the years has extended its collection and now houses birds of prey, ponies, pigs, llamas and racoons (to name but a few). The tropical house is home to the butterflies (plus some reptiles and other insects). The volume and variety of butterflies is breathtaking and the tropical house is well set out so you get plenty of opportunity to see the butterflies without feeling you have walked round in circles. Outside in the park you can explore all the other animal exhibits and catch one of the daily falconry displays. There is a new children's adventure play area and if all of this tires you out and you need to recharge your batteries then there is a lovely restaurant/cafe which serves delicious homemade cakes and lunches. The Gift shop is well stocked and the staff are all very friendly. All in all a fantastic day out.

HAve been to the park a few times over the years , and although the children really enjoyed it,…read moreeven my daughter who was 6 at the time holding some kind of tarantula spider. They do do a lovely falconry display which is llovely sitting outside during the summer. The play par kis quite extensive and even my hubby had fun playing on the zip wire. The terrapins are also interesting to watch and they have such an array of butterflys. They have a huge picnic area which caters for large parties as well as having a coffee shop and a gift store

Blackbrook Zoo is a good family day out in the Moorlands. When the park first opened, it was called…read moreBlackbrook world of birds, and obviously, birds are still an important part of the offerings here (in fact, Blackbrook has the largest bird collection in the UK). But they have now extended their range and made this an attractive and family friendly small zoo, with animals such as lemurs, wallabies and more recently, riverhogs. The zoo is open all year round and has a strong focus on education, leading to many trips by local schools. It has free parking, a gift shop and kids play area, as well as a pretty stone built tea shop - it is well worth a visit.

It was a beautiful sunny day in April, and my Dad asked what I wanted to do. I had failed to get…read morehere the previous week due to train problems..so I thought now was a good time to utilise the dadmobile. When we arrived we were ushered to a parking space, which was already half full at 11am. Walking down a pathway we passed a couple of cool wonky funhouses and a restaurant bus until arriving at the entrance. Adults admissions was £9.95, this paid we went straight to the nearby cafe for breccie. The menu was basic but all fresh with jacket potatoes, cakes , Panini and sandwiches with various fillings. I grabbed a brie and cranberry panini, my dad a jacket potato..just in time as a few people piled in. To my right a show was going on outside with parrots playing basket ball. Food demolished we went to investigate. A billboard showed a regular list of talks and shows, for now we discarded this. The site itself is quite large, with a farm yard section containing goats, peacock, ducks and guinea pigs. Walking around the perimeter, displayed birds of prey, owls, vultures, stalks..several other displays contained wallaby and the butterfly house itself contained leafcutter ants, bats, crocodiles and of course butterflies. Everything seemed to surround the main stars of the show. Lemurs , meerkats and otters. I only attended two shows , one regarding lemurs, which was factual and not babyfied and one where several birds took part in free flying. Overall the site is well maintained and has several interactive parts to keep kids entertained. Random billboards that squirt water and plastic model dinosaurs inter-weaved with the scenery. The food at the cafe was satisfactory and the gift shop the usual marked up cost. Every staff member I came across was naturally fully energetic, friendly and enthusiastic. A good place to come when the weather is nice. Without the shows though there is not a huge amount to see and do.

This is a beautiful place to visit in the summer months but dont be fooled by the name…read more this is a loving home for much more than butterflys they have pigs, skunks, chickens , monkeys, donkeys and parrots to name a tiny few . They have a tropical room which is home to the butterflys as well as giant snails, ants and fish. The vast park is full of lovely animals which in most areas are free to wander around. They have falconry displays and ferrets which play games which the audience are invited to participate in. There is a relaxed feel about the place . there is a lovely woodland walk through the grounds and visitors are able to feed some of the animals with fruit and nuts etc which are supplied free of charge for the animals. the venue is suitable for all ages and disabled friendly although not much in the way of disabled parking. tucked away at the back of the gift shop is a childrens play area withich is really a a circuit with ample bikes, trikes, scooters etc suitable for ages up to around 10. they also have a circuit containg coin operated electric bikes at a cost of £1 a ride. Its a bit of the beaten track and it gets very busy especially during school holidays but definately worth a visit if you like animals

so much fun for children in summer and Easter! loads of farm animals you can feed, sheep races and…read moreferret races, so much playground area for younger and older kids! Loads of fun activities put on like Easter egg hunts and tractor rides. Ice cream shop Farm shop Large restaurant with really good food Old stately home tours or entry at own leisure Countryside walk

Fabulous place to go with the kids. The actual farm is really well looked after and the animals…read morehave beautiful buildings to call their homes. The play area is great for kids to use up some energy...it's clean and safe. The whole farm feels new and we'll looked after. The animals have plenty of space to roam about. There a great adventure play area for the kids to play in too. Outside of the farm there's a brilliant space for picnics...great place to go nd before you go home...the farm shop is a must! The pork pies are to die for!!

Simple and fun. Nice animals. Nice staff. Great countryside location. Check out the water mill. All…read morestill working

Sacrewell is a short drive for my family and provides a good fun day out whatever the weather…read more It's child friendly with lots of animals to pet and hand feed, they have a park area and maize maze outside and a large soft play barn for rainy days. Animals range from guinea pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, horses, pigs, chickens, cows and donkeys. They also have a small shire horse centre on site. The cafe is clean and tidy with a good range of food and drinks for adults and children and a good selection of warming meals. The staff have always been polite and friendly and eager to educate the children. it's worth checking the website ( http://www.sacrewell.org.uk/index.asp ) as they nearly always have some special event on, be it Lamb racing, Halloween or Christmas specials and the working watermill is used for the odd Bakery days. Enjoy the day and don't forget your Wellington boots.it's a farm!